It Just Happened That Way || JEONGIN from skz!

9

*Author Notes:

1. There were some climbing terms in here that might be unfamiliar to readers! I added definitions at the end. :) 

2. I am sorry this one was poopy! But i've got the next like...5 chapters? planned out, so stay tuned! Thanks for reading. 

3. I'm thinking of adding outfit photos per chapter! This one is what I imagined Jeongin to be wearing in this chapter. All black with boots. 

* 

Life finally settled into a nice routine. I would wake up at around 7 AM, and take my time getting ready before leaving for work at 7:45. I would arrive at around 8:15, and go straight to the cafeteria for a light breakfast. I really could get used to this constant free food.

After that, I had my usual workday of meetings with fellow developers as I continued to ramp up. My role on the team was becoming clearer, and knowledge transfers between team members and myself happened quicker than it did when I first started working right out of college. A couple of my team members, Will and Lyra, were also ex-pats from the US! They shared a lot of advice as far as working in Korea, paying taxes, tips for banks, etc. Overall, work was going better than I expected.

After work, I usually ate another light meal for dinner at the cafeteria, even though the food was always delicious and hard to resist. I did this so that I could go to the climbing gym and get my workout in. I also did this because I knew I would be snacking later with Jeongin. We met up almost every night after our workdays just to vent to each other about the day's events. It was therapeutic to have a friend that I could trust.

Today was no different. I finished work and was excited to get to the climbing gym, so I skipped dinner. I had just become friends with a crew at the gym, and we were all trying to get there before the rush so that we could try out the new set.** (The gym reset the climbs on a wall every Tuesday so that members wouldn't get bored of the climbs).

I arrived just as one of my new girl friends, Jessi, arrived. She was born and raised in Korea, but went to Seoul International, and then went to a US university before returning to work in Korea. Thanks to this, we got along well without any language barrier.

"Yeona! Over here!" Jessi motioned me over to the new set.

I put my bag down in some cubbies, grabbed my shoes and chalk bucket, and jogged over to the new set. My eyes went immediately to the fresh holds and scanned the problems with excitement. Just as I sat down to yank on my tight climbing shoes, one of the guys in the crew tapped both of my shoulders from behind, saying hello.

"Oh hey, Jaewoo," I say, distracted by the climbs.

He sits down next to me, and bumps my shoulders with his.

"Excited about the new set? Gonna flash all of 'em?"

As he says this, he puts his arm around me and looks at me expectantly. I casually shrug off his arm and get up.

"I dunno, feeling weak today. I'm gonna go warm up." I walk over to some easier climbs and hope that he doesn't follow me.

The whole crew arrives and Jaewoo becomes distracted by them all. Jessi takes this chance to walk over to me, and quietly says, "Jaewoo is making so moves on you." She's blunt and straightforward, but she's not wrong.

"Yeah..." I say, rolling my eyes. Not to be egotistical or arrogant, but this wasn't a new thing. This was just something that girls dealt with at climbing gyms. Guys see one strong girl with mediocre features, and suddenly she's some goddess that must be preyed upon. "Whatever. Hopefully he gets my hints, because if he doesn't, then he's just dumb...and I'll beat him up." I say this half jokingly.